Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: Hassan and the Underground Market #2
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"No, Hassan! This guy's the last one—!"
Luna flailed her arms as if trying to shake me off, but my hand had already grabbed the final Wildling clinging to her chest.
And then I slurped it down.
Gulp, guuuulp...
『Consumed the milk of sky queen.』
『Karma +100.』
『Current Karma Value: +279.』
Fuck, over 200 Karma Value from guzzling that bizarre liquid monster! Shit, I can't even tell if this is a dream or reality anymore.
200 Karma Value is enough for at least two level-ups. With my current level at 19, burning through this would push me straight past level 20.
Hitting level 30—the benchmark for Silver-tier adventurer promotion—might not be such a pipe dream after all.
"Hnngh—."
"Hassan, you idiot! You ate all my Wildlings! I told you just one...!"
But Luna seemed seriously pissed that I'd scarfed down every last one of her Wildlings. Well, can you blame her? Those things cost two gold apiece—insanely valuable beasts.
Of course she'd be mad if I helped myself without asking.
I knew that full well, but the second I tasted it... what can I say? It was like my body just craved it, no thoughts, nothing. What the hell got into me?
"Sorry, Luna. Wasn't on purpose. Here, I'll pay for the ones I ate."
"...Fine!"
Her face lit up the instant I handed over four gold—the exact value of what I'd eaten. Her emotions flipped so fast it was hard to keep up, but hey, it was useful in its own way.
"Heehee, gold again. What should I spend it on? Wanna go look for more Wildlings?"
"Heh heh, looks like brother and sister have already adapted to the underground market. Guess I'll go check out that dragon-whisker biwa I've always wanted."
"I-I'm gonna go too.... There's something over there that's bugging me...."
And so we split up to blow our cash.
Thanks to that, Luna and I got to wander the underground market together, hunting for a stall selling more of those Wildlings we'd just eaten.
But no dice. Nowhere sold liquid monsters.
The three Luna bought earlier were the last ones.
"They don't come in often. Maybe one a month, if you're lucky. And you never know when."
"You might spot one falling from the Milky Way if you're staring at the right time."
Even the underground merchants stuck out their tongues at how rare Wildlings were. No wonder they were so pricey and exotic.
Felt just like a white mountain ginseng-fed albino rat—super valuable medicine. My old man would've been thrilled for a month straight if he snagged one.
Anyway, we roamed the underground market for half a day like that.
"My legs hurt."
Maybe worn out from all the walking, Luna plopped down on a rickety wooden barrel nearby. I sat next to her for a quick breather.
Perfect timing too—Luna had made me two totems in advance, so I used them to level up. No-brainer: dumped every point into Strength.
One of the two gave bonus stats, bumping my Strength up by a total of 3.
"...Chaos Eternal."
Ding-.
『Name: Hassan Lv. 19 → 22』
『Strength: 9 → 12』
『Agility: 4』
『Vitality: 6』
『Karma: 179』
『Blessings: Blessing of Chaos | Shining Hand | Cloak of Night』』
"Heh heh."
Strength at 12.
Twelve.
Twelve—that's not far off from Hippolyte's 15. And I think Elfriede's was around 12.
Crunch.
I clenched my fist, feeling the power surge through me. An omnipotence I'd never known before coursed unmistakably through my body.
Felt like I could pull off stuff I'd never dreamed of before. Honestly, I'd sensed it starting around when my stats hit 10.
How strong had I gotten?
Wish there was a bench press machine to test it. Smacking my lips in regret, I noticed Luna staring right at me.
"What?"
"Nothing."
She kept gazing at my face without explaining.
How long had it been since someone stared at me like that? Even coming from Luna—even more so because it was her—it made me flush.
"You're still ugly, Hassan."
"What the hell, out of nowhere."
"Your hair's black, eyes black. Black's an ominous color. I like it, though."
Picking on my looks like that. Had she suddenly realized how ugly I was? Was the rose-tinted glasses off?
"But I liked that you were ugly, Hassan. Felt like no one else would."
"What? What's that supposed to mean."
Did she have hipster taste in looks or something? Glad I was ugly, I guess.
I'd never really heard "ugly" back home, but in this world, us barbarians start with the "weird-looking" bias. Can't fight prejudice.
Then Luna said,
"But if you look good in my eyes, maybe others see it too sometimes."
"...Yeah? Why say that all of a sudden? Who likes me?"
"No one. But going forward... maybe. If you keep getting stronger, famous. You'll get followers trailing you. Some might be girls."
"Worried about that already?"
To my casual reply, Luna said,
"I want you to get famous, hit Gold-tier. But part of me wants you as my little hero, just rolling in the dirt together."
I could instinctively sense her anxiety.
I'd heard women often fret if their guy's gonna tangle with other women.
In bad cases, they won't even let him be around them or talk. My buddy's girlfriend was exactly like that—wiped every girl's name from his phone.
Sure, my buddy was a total player, so I got why she was insecure. But me? Bottom-barrel barbarian who ain't got game.
Yet here was Luna worrying some other girl might stick to me. And her instincts hit the mark more often than you'd think.
So, picturing Hippolyte's face in my head, I asked super casually, like it was nothing.
"Hey, Luna. Just bored, curious. What do you think about polygamy?"
Her face twisted up at my words.
"Why ask that?"
Shit, she turned it back on me. Not like her usual chatty self—this was a sharp counterpunch.
Felt worse than that gut-shot from Elfriede earlier.
"No reason."
"No reason my ass. There's gotta be one."
"Seriously, just wondered."
"...Why wonder?!"
Luna bared her claws like a feral dinosaur, growling. Her sharp fangs glinted—scary as hell.
"Spill it quick, or I'll bite, Hassan!"
"N-No, it's just..."
Fuck, wish I had my buddy's smooth talk. Hell, even Malco—what would he say?
"Bro, you're fucked."
Yeah, "Bro, you're fucked." Wait, did I hear Malco's voice?
I whipped around. Sure enough, there was Malco, half-naked in his underwear, shambling toward us.
The bastard finally fucked up. Unpaid tabs, public drunkenness, now adding public indecency to the list.
"Malco, you fuck! What happened?!"
I bolted at him full speed. Luna's question KO'd me, but this third-party intrusion saved the match. Phew.
"Malco, you fuck! Good to see ya!"
"Such a warm welcome—warms my frozen heart like sunlight. Still fucked, though."
Malco had ditched his goofy conical hat and that annoying instrument he always lugged around. Just in undies. What the hell happened in half a day to break a man like this?
"What the fuck happened?"
"Got robbed. Who'd think they'd steal the clothes off my back?"
"Fuck, they stole your clothes?"
Stealing the shirt off your back? That's not a thief—that's an artist. King of Thieves or some shit.
Then Malco added,
"Lost it gambling, actually. Was this close to a huge win. Ah, Mercury. Why this trial..."
"Fuck, man, I thought you got robbed for real."
A thief who could yoink your clothes mid-wear? Had to be tied to the Thieves' Guild—major league.
Tracking him might crack open that elusive Thieves' Guild. No clue where to start in this massive underground, and asking around "Know the Thieves' Guild?" was too stupid.
Disappointed, I felt Malco grab my collar.
"No, I got robbed. It was rigged—a scam game. If that's not robbery, what is?"
"Dude, fuck, every gambler says that after losing. Let go anyway. Where do you get off groping a naked dude—."
Man-to-man contact? Only CPR or punches. Universal rule. Anything else? Fuckin' foul.
"Let go before I deck you!"
"I got robbed! My gold! My gold stolen! Mercury!"
But Malco was out of his mind.
Lost every coin in half a day gambling? No wonder he snapped.
If I lost big gambling? No way I'd stay sane.
"Lord Hassan! Lady Luna! Malco! There you are...! Been looking everywhere...!"
Then, way off, that nymph-convert Paranoya waved and approached. He clutched a weird bone in his hand.
"Hehe, got lucky...! Snagged a nymph finger bone for seven gold...! They say wands from nymph finger bones are top-tier...!"
A nymph carrying a nymph finger bone. My brain twisted into knots trying to process it.
"Dude, that's nymphphobic."
"It's fine between nymphs...!"
Fine between nymphs, huh. Like black folks slinging slurs at each other but not outsiders.
Nodding to myself, I noticed Luna—who'd been pouting quietly beside me—perk up.
"Nymph finger bone! Whoa! Lemme see!"
She had this knack for forgetting tantrums fast. Must make life fun.
Swoosh. Clatter.
Luna snatched the bone from Paranoya's hand and oohed.
"Ooh—."
"T-The famous nymph finger bone...!"
"Isn't it amazing, Lady Luna...?"
"...So cool. And you've got two more like this?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"Paranoya, you're the best!"
"Hngaaack!"
Luna lunged and hugged his waist.
Total madhouse.
Eh, we were just scouting the underground market today. Real quest kicks off tomorrow with Hippolyte. One chill day won't hurt.
Work-rest balance is key.
So, recap: Malco blew it all gambling.
Paranoya dumped it on that bone?
Luna and I had 4 and 6 gold left. Started with over 30—poof, gone in half a day. Earning sucks, spending's a breeze.
That's Iron-Bronze tier life.
Never saved big, blow windfalls in one go. Tons in debt everywhere.
Debt-free? That's solid for low-tiers.
"But Paranoya, this looks fake too."
"N-No way...!"
"Nah, total fake. Monkey finger bone. See? The knuckles and joints are off. Handled tons of monkey bones."
Luna's eye for materials was killer. Verdict: phony, not nymph.
Paranoya wailed.
"Eeeek! L-Lord Hassan! What do I do...! I got scammed...! All my money...!"
"Tch, what else? Demand a refund."
Seven gold's huge. Gambling loss is on you, but fake goods? Fair game.
"Where? Let's go."
"O-Over there...."
We dragged the spazzing Paranoya through the market. Twisting through alleys for a bit, we found it deep inside: a shop crammed with weird bone sculptures, potted plants growing outta nowhere, leather sacks, random junk.
What to call it? Underground junk shop? Yeah.
"Welcome."
Owner: one-eyed pirate type with an eyepatch, black bandana. Bearded, looked 30s-40s, but this world's ageless geezers made it impossible to tell.
"Guess you're not here to buy."
Spotted sniffling Paranoya? He smirked and pointed to the corner. Fat iron sign there.
"Our shop's under Hydra protection. No refunds—beat it."
Sign showed a nine-headed lizard. Thieves' Guild affiliate? Explains the scam sales swagger.
Perfect.
Crack this guy, get my thief intel. Time to test that slum-honed intimidation skill—and threaten him.
"Better cough up the gold nice. Or you'll regret it. I'll skin you alive."
"Wha? S-Skin?"
The cyclops flinched.
We were four.
He was solo.
No choice but to wilt. But then he burst out laughing.
"Got me for a sec. True barbarian—wild as fuck. Intimidation? Love it. But I ain't new to underground trade."
Tough nut—rolled enough not to scare easy. My newbie growls had limits.
Cyclops said,
"Wanna flex? Smash that Hydra plate over there. Might consider refund then."
Pointed at the iron again. Pissed at the dismissal, I yanked the plate off the wall on a whim.
Solid, cold iron. Thick too—worthy of "plate."
"Wanna test my new strength anyway. Nice."
"Gonna actually do it? Good luck—even a bear won't dent it. Titanium alloy—"
Creeeak.
"Won't dent... why won't it...?"
"Now, hand over the gold. And you've got info for me."
Crumple, creeeak.
I chucked the basketball-sized crumpled plate at his feet.
He gawked, dumbfounded.
...I was shocked too, deep down.
Tch, my power exceeded expectations.